Governor Takes N.J. Out of Cap-And-Trade System

Published: May 27, 2011

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced plans yesterday to pull the Garden State out of the nation's only operating cap-and-trade system, spurring environmental anger, conservative cheers and speculation about his national ambitions.

It also stirred confusion about the governor's legal authority and what will happen to the carbon trading program, which caps utility carbon dioxide emissions in 10 Northeastern and mid-Atlantic states, at a time when national climate legislation appears dead on Capitol Hill.

At a news conference in Trenton, N.J., the Republican governor said he believed after months of study and meetings with scientists that humans were causing climate change and that his government needed to put policies in place to curb warming temperatures. That is a shift from last year, when Christie expressed doubts about the science behind global warming.

At the same time, though, he dealt a big blow to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, calling it a "failure" because it had done little on its own to curb emissions of heat-trapping gases. The initiative, which requires power producers to buy and sell permits for the right to emit CO2, has been operational since 2008.

"We remain completely committed to the idea that we have a responsibility to make the environment of our state and world better," Christie said. "We're not going to do it by participating in gimmicky programs that don't work." He said New Jersey would depart RGGI by the end of the year.

"Reduced emissions have been due to increased use of natural gas, and the decreased use of coal. We're seeing that the market, and not RGGI, has created incentives to reduce the use of carbon-based fuels," Christie added.

The state Department of Environmental Protection simultaneously released a report yesterday about New Jersey's greenhouse gas emissions, which Christie said showed that the state's emissions already stand below goals for 2020, making the program essentially moot.

National political ambitions?

Other state policies, such as programs to develop offshore wind and put solar panels on landfills, will be more effective at blocking greenhouse gases, Christie said. He announced that the state would not permit new coal-fired power plants.

The decision could gain favor with national Republicans for Christie, considering that cap and trade is an unpopular concept in the GOP, several analysts said. It also has been attacked fervently via state campaigns as an energy tax by groups like Americans for Prosperity, a group co-founded by oil billionaire David Koch.

Christie has said repeatedly in recent weeks that he is not running for president in 2012, but pundit speculation has run high about whether he will change his mind or will privately campaign for a vice presidential slot, given the governor's recent trips to Washington, D.C.

"It has become a litmus test to be opposed to cap and trade if you want to raise your stature in the Republican Party nationally," said Leigh Raymond, an associate professor of political science at Purdue University. "I can't think of another reason why he would do this."

It shows how much the Republican dynamic has changed in the East, he said, considering that GOP governors such as former New York Gov. George Pataki were among the initial backers of RGGI.

In New Jersey, the picture is more mixed.

Party control of both chambers of the Legislature is on the line in November, and this decision could play a role in key swing districts in favor of Democrats, said John Weingart, associate director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. Environmental protection continues to be popular in New Jersey among all political parties, so the governor could face some political backlash at the margins, he said.

However, the effect likely could be small, he said, since many New Jersey voters don't know what cap and trade is, despite their history of backing environmental causes.

Environmentalists slammed the decision as one that would deprive New Jersey of millions of dollars in funds for clean-energy programs at a time of a budget crisis. The program has raised more than $100 million for state coffers via participation in quarterly carbon auctions, according to statistics from the initiative.

Funds for renewable energy at risk

About half of those funds went to renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, with the rest being used for general deficit reduction in New Jersey.